


I was a human

by Book_goddessforlife98



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Cyborgs, Human Experimentation, M/M, Mental Institutions, Modern AU, Trent ikithon is a dick, robot/human hybrid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-10-06 11:44:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20506442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Book_goddessforlife98/pseuds/Book_goddessforlife98
Summary: My mighty nein cyborg au. Enjoy.Inspired by the song IRobot  by Jon Bellion





	1. Before you killed me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time on his clock read 1:11 am. 
> 
> There were sirens in the distance, they got louder and finally they stopped. Voices. Footsteps splashing in the water. 
> 
> The paramedics arrived at 1:13 am, which made no sense to Bren. Maybe his clock broke, maybe it was behind. He really didn’t know, his brain was in a fog. 
> 
> “They’re still alive!” 
> 
> “Go check on the other driver,” A face appeared, They put their fingers to his throat, checking for a pulse he assumed. 
> 
> “I have a pulse. He’s still alive, barely conscious.“
> 
> Bren is sixteen years old when he gets into a horrible car accident. His parents end up agreeing to Dr. Trent Ikithkon’s trial in exchange for their son’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning ⚠️: car accident, Ikithon taking advantage of a grieving mother to get what he wants. Some ableism, mentions of experiments on non-consenting patients.

It was raining the day Bren got into his accident. He had left Soltryce Academy’s dorms to go get some coffee for him and his study group. He got into his old car, it was a beat up station wagon, his mother kept bugging him about the old car. Saying it was a death trap because it was so old. But it was a trusty car. He and his father had fixed it up together. Bren drove off, he was about halfway to the coffee place when it happened. He was waiting at the light, it turned green. He checked both sides of the street for any cars. There wasn’t any so he started to go when another car came from nowhere and hit him. He heard the crunch of metal, the bang of the air bag. It hitting him in the face, the cracking glass, screeching tires. He felt his car flip and the roll, it felt like it kept going. It was dead silent now, Bren opened his eyes. The light came into focus first, he was upside down. Then the horn of a car, a few seconds later it stopped. He was left with the sound of rain hitting the cars. He couldn’t move his legs, or his left arm. The time on his clock read 1:11 am. 

There were sirens in the distance, they got louder and finally they stopped. Voices. Footsteps splashing in the water. 

The paramedics arrived at 1:13 am, which made no sense to Bren. Maybe his clock broke, maybe it was behind. He really didn’t know, his brain was in a fog. 

“They’re still alive!” 

“Go check on the other driver,” A face appeared, They put their fingers to his throat, checking for a pulse he assumed. 

“I have a pulse. He’s still alive, barely conscious. Sir can you hear me?” They asked him. He looked at them. 

“Ja I can hear you,” he said. “I can’t move my arm, or my legs,” he said. “Am I going to die?” The person put a neck brace around his neck. 

“It’s going to be ok, we are going to get you out of here,” they said. “Hopefully not,” They called the firefighters over. They needed the jaws of life to get him out of the car. His legs having been pinned, were crushed by the car. Bren cried out in pain when they moved him. They put him into a stretcher and then onto a gurney. He was in and out of consciousness. He was rushed straight in. Light shining in his eyes. He heard voices but the words were inaudible. He had an oxygen mask on. He watched the lights go passed as he was wheeled somewhere, he blacked out. The doctor intubated him, they rushed him into surgery. Calling his parents who rushed over to the hospital. They were in the waiting room. The doctor came out to talk to them. 

“You are Bren’s parents?”

“Ja we are,” Una said “is our son going to be ok? What happened?”

“He was in a very bad car accident, his injuries are extensive. We are doing everything that we can,” 

“But?” Leofric said. 

“But they had to pry him out of that car,” she said. “And he has a lot of internal bleeding. His legs are mess,” she said. “It’s not looking good. He is a fighter so his chances of surviving go up, but he also lost a lot of blood, if he does survive he won’t walk again,” she explained. “But you need to be prepared if he doesn’t survive,” she felt horrible for giving them such bad news. “I will keep you updated,” she left going back into the surgery room. Una cried, sobbing into her hands. Leofric had left the room to call some family friends. A man approached Una offering her tissues. She took them, sniffing. 

“I couldn't help but overhear your situation,” the man said. “I wish to help you out, my name is Dr. Trent Ikithon,” he said. Una had heard of him. He was one of the lead cybernetic surgeons in the world. “I have already looked at Bren’s case and he is a suitable candidate for my trials,” he said. “My trials have yielded great results, and I do not wish to see a bright young man such as Bren die,” he said. “When he can so easily he saved by medical advances such as these,” 

“We do not have that kind of money,” Una said. She knew how expensive this stuff got and insurance wouldn’t cover it. 

“Money is no issue,” Trent said. “I can take care of it,”

“We are strangers to you. Why would you help us?” Una asked 

“Because it is the right thing to do, I just need your consent. He has a better chance with me than he does without my help,” he said holding out the forms. “I just need you to sign,” Una took the consent form. She glanced it over, she signed it. She was desperate. 

“Save my boy please,” she said. 

“I will,” he said taking the form and going to the OR Bren was in. He informed them he would be taking over. He already had his team ready, it was easy to convince grieving parents to sign up for his trial when their kids were dying. Especially parents who had crap insurance. 

__________ 

Bren woke up in a hospital room. He felt sort of numb all over. But he also hurt all over. He tried to move but he was restrained by the wires and the tube down his throat. He panicked. A lavender skinned tiefling with dark hair walked into the room, they looked like a nurse. 

“Easy. You just got out of a major surgery a few hours ago,” they said,''Don't try to breathe. The machine is doing it for you. You were in a very bad car accident,” they told him. He remembered the crash, remembered being pinned in the car. “My name is Lucien. I came to check up on you,” they had a warm smile. “It will be alright. Just relax,” they got Bren to calm down. The door opened and Trent stepped into the room.

”Bren good to see you are awake, I came to see how you were doing,” He said walking over. He snapped on a pair of gloves looking at Bren’s legs. His hands were ice could against Bren’s hot skin. “Some bruising is normal where flesh meets with the cyber limb,” he said. He took a look at Bren’s left arm. The other was in a cast. “Are you in any pain? Blink once for no twice for yes,” Bren blink twice. Trent adjusted the pain meds as needed.

“I will be back, your parents will want to see you,” he said leaving. 

“You are very lucky that Dr. Trent took your case,” Lucien said. “He is the best. Don’t worry,” he said. “Do you want me to stay with you until your parents come?” Bren blinked twice. Lucien stayed with Bren until the door opened. 

Trent lead his parents in. Lucien left the room. Una walked over she brushed Bren’s hair out of his eyes. Kissing his forehead. They talked with dr. Ikithon before they left. Bren only caught snippets of it.

There were a few more surgeries that Bren had to go through, he occasionally saw his parents. Lucien was always there when he woke up to help him. He helped Bren walk again. Slow and steady. 

Lucien holds Bren’s hands in his. They are in the hallway. 

“Just one step at a time,” they say. Bren takes a wobbly step and then another. He continues to take steps. He nearly falls but Lucien catches him. 

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he said helping Bren upright. He helps steady him. 

“Thank you,” he says. 

“Do you want to go back?”

“No I want to keep trying,” he says. Lucien nods and helps him walk to the end of the hall. Bren feels like a toddler again. Wobbly steps at first, but he gets better.

Lucien walked in one day to find Bren with the covers thrown off he was looking at his legs, Bren’s fingers touched place where his flesh met with the metal. His metal legs. It started just above his knee. He winced, it was still tender there. He was being released today. 

“You okay Bren?”

“Ja, just feels weird,” he said. “And I just miss my parents,”

“I noticed they weren’t around much, 

“They have to work,” he said. Lucien helped Bren get dressed. 

“Oh,”

“I don't know how they could afford this,” he said. 

“Hmmm, well I’m sure that they won’t go into debt,”

”I got into this accident in the first place because my car was shitty, if it had been better than maybe I wouldn’t be like this,”

”Bren I’m sure it wouldn’t have mattered the way and speed the other car hit yours...I saw photos of the car accident,” he said “you are lucky to be alive. Very lucky, it wouldn’t have mattered if you were in a newer “safer” car. And I’ve seen plenty of car accident victims,” he reassured Bren.

”I don’t want to sent my parents into debt,” he said. 

Lucien wheeled Bren out to the car that was waiting for him. Even though he could walk out of there it was policy. He got into dr. Ikithon’s car, since his parents were both working, Ikithon had offered him a ride home.

“Hello, Bren. You ready to go home?”

“Ja,” he said “danke you for giving me a ride,” they drove off. Bren noticed this wasn’t the way to his parents' home. “Where are we going? 

“My home. It is only until you fully recover,” he explained. His house was huge. Beautiful. It was ten times bigger than Bren’s childhood home. Trent parked the car. Bren got out. There were two others outside waiting. A girl who looked seventeen and a boy who looked eighteen. Ikithon introduced them. Astrid and Eodwulf. They like Bren were Cyborgs. They have both been in tragic accidents Astrid was in a building collapse. Eodwulf had been working on his family’s farm when the tractor malfunction and had damaged his arm beyond repair. Bren was welcomed by them. Trent teaches them and trains them to defend themselves. He still experiments on them. He teaches them that people fear them. And will try to hurt them because of fear. 

Bren visits his parents, they welcome him with open arms. He stays the night, he hears them early in the morning, talking about how he is not their son. He is a monster. Bren calls Eodwulf to come and get him early. He was supposed to stay the weekend but how can he? They hate him now, they say that they wished they had wished they had just let him die.

Bren has always been an outcast. He has always been weird. Smarter than everyone his own age. Smarter than some adults too. His parents have always been supportive of him. No matter how different he was, they loved him and did everything they could to give him a better chance at life. So hearing them talk with such hate in their voices breaks his heart. On the drive back home Wulf tells Bren that the same thing had happened to him. His parents had also hated him. As did his siblings. He tells Bren to talk to Trent, so he does. He tells him what he heard. Trent listens and nods. 

“It hurts,” 

“Do you want it to not hurt?” Trent asks. Bren nodded he doesn’t want the pain anymore. “I can make it all stop,” he said pulling a draw from his desk open. He places a small box on the desk. “This will help you,” 

“What is it?” 

“It’s an inhibitor,” Trent says. “It will make you stop feeling,” he says. “Just tell me you want it. That you are sure this is what you want,” he says. 

Bren nods. “I am sure,” he says. He lets Trent install and activate it. He feels nothing now. He visits his parents a few months later, he burns the house down. Eodwulf planted the idea in his head. He told him they would come after him if he didn’t stop them. So he burns them, something goes wrong with the inhibitor. It malfunctions and practically fries Bren’s brain. He also can’t cope with the fact that he just murdered his parents. That he had never actually gone to visit them at all. It was fake. Trent had to remove it, otherwise it will kill him. He puts Bren in the psych ward of ShadyCreek hospital. He will have to work on fixing him. For now the psych ward is the safest place for him. He is docile, Trent can keep an eye on him while he’s at work. He wonders what went wrong. He doesn’t understand why it malfunctioned. Bren’s mind had been healthy. He tries multiple things to try and fix Bren. At first he resisted and he had to be restained but then he just stopped. It was like he was just a shell. His once vibrant blue eyes were dull and glossy. It was like no one was home. Bren was buried deep into his own head. And the doctors were certain that he wouldn’t ever heal, and it was most likely to remain this way.

**Five years later**

Bren’s mind finally clears, he doesn’t know who did it. Just a woman. He doesn’t know how she did it. But she did. He remembers clearly what had happened now. What really happened.

_ “You lied to me? To my parents!” _

_ “It had to be done, Bren. The human race is weak. You are being emotional” _

_ “Emotional?! You took advantage of my grieving mother. You caused my car accident! You’ve done this to countless others. Why are you doing this?!” _

_ “To make humans better, this is one step closer to humanity gaining immortality,” _

_ “This isn’t right!” _

_ “I am just going to have to fix you then. I have insurance so you will not turn on me. I was going to wait until the time was right. But now I think it is,” he motions for Eodwulf to come out and help restrain Bren. Bren struggles in the older boy’s grip. Eodwulf is stronger than him, always has been. He is shoved into a chair and restrained. Eodwulf tightens the restraints. Bren struggles to free himself. _

_ “Eodwulf please. Don’t do this,” _

_ “He is right Bren. This is the only way,” _

_ “No it isn’t!” _

_ “It will hurt at first. But it will be the last time you ever feel pain. It’s so freeing Bren. Not feeling anything. Not having to deal with emotions. Not having to worry about them. It’s the next step in our evolution,” _

_ “Did you do this to Astrid too?” _

_ “Yes, she would agree. She agreed to this too, you on the other hand have to be stubborn,” _

_ “So you faked the emotions?” _

_ “They are so easy to mimic. It will feel so much better once you don’t have them and you forget,” _

Bren waits three weeks. He waits three weeks before he escapes. He kills the guard Ikithon had posted and he runs. He sneaks into the lost and found and steals the clothes that will fit. He covers his arms up. To cover up the scars and cyborg arm. He knows what will happen to him if he doesn’t. People had particular attitudes towards cyborgs. They would either kill him for being an “abomination” or they would strip him for parts and then kill him or leave him for dead. Bren once he was far enough away used the makeshift knife he had used to stab the guard to make a small cut on the back of his neck. He winced as he pulled out the tracker that had been placed there by Ikithon. He put pressure to try and stop the bleeding. He ended up breaking into a convent store and stealing some of the medical supplies. He placed a bandage over the wound. 

Trent Ikithon had finally figured out what went wrong. The entire reason that the inhibitor had been a failure had been a miscalculation on Trent’s part. And he was berating himself for it. He had lost one of his most successful test subjects because of it. He had not taken into account Bren’s neurodivergent mind. He could easily forget the boy’s mind worked differently. In his opinion it was a beautiful mind, and he had damaged it. He hoped it wasn’t permanent. Bren was smart, he picked up on things quickly. Remembered everything, down to the tiniest detail. His mind worked differently, processed differently that what was considered normal.

It’s why it (the device that is) had eventually failed and it had nearly fried Bren’s brain in the process. Ikithon had been so upset at first because he thought he had permanently damaged Bren. But the other doctors told him eventually Bren would heal. In the meantime he would fix the mistakes, he hoped that it would be finished soon. Trent’s phone rang, he picked it up. Irritated that he had been interrupted.

“What is it?” He asked 

“Dr. Ikithon,” the voice said “we sort of have a problem. Bren…he sort of had a violent outburst and he killed his guard and took off,”

“He did what?!” 

“He escaped,”

“Find him!” Trent said 

“We can’t, he’s been planning this for a while. We don’t know how long he has been coherent,” she explained. Trent opened up a file on his computer. He activated the tracking device that he had put into the back of Bren’s neck. It suddenly went dead. 

“Fuck!” He growled “he cut the tracker out,” he said “call the police,” 

“What should we tell them?” 

“That an unstable patient escaped. Tell them he is delusional and anything he says can’t be believed,”

“Alright, I will give them a statement,”

“Good. Now I have work to do. Keep me updated,” he hung up.

_______ 

Bren ended up sneaking onto a train, getting as far away from the city or Rexxentum. He got off in Zadash. It was the farthest away from Rexxentum, and this was as far as this particular train went. He pulled his hood up over his head sneaking through the crowds. He wasn’t sure what he would do but for now he would just lie low. He hadn’t really planned this out, not that he was given much time. He was certain that had he stayed for any longer in the psych ward that they would have figured out that he had gotten better and they would tell Ikithon. He didn’t want to become a weapon. Being here wondering around was better than being mindless. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reason I made a note that when Bren looked at the clock it read 1:11 and then the paramedics arrived two minutes later is because the car accident (later noted in this chapter) was set up by Ikithon. The paramedics were called ahead of time so they would get there just a minute or two after the car accident.


	2. I use to know love

A year later

He went by Caleb now, not that it mattered. People rarely gave him a second glance. Caleb sat against the wall of the building. He was reading an old tattered book that he had found in the trash. People rushed passed him, two older men and a young halfling woman. He recognized their gang symbol. The Iron Shepherds.

“Get back here you freak!” One of the men grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

“Help!” She screams. “Please help me,” Caleb stood up and walked over to them.

“Please leave her alone,” Caleb said. 

“Look man we will pay you to look the other way,”

“Not interested in money,” 

“Then guess we have to kill you too,” the second man said, he drew his weapon. Caleb grabbed the gun with his left hand and crushed it and twisting it out of the man’s hand. 

“What the fuck!” The other man approached paying no attention to the young women. He went to attack Caleb. But Caleb was way quicker than him. He flipped him over and pinned him to the ground. The other one tried to stop him but the young woman who was watching hopped onto his back and started strangling him. 

“Hey! Leave him alone!” She yelled. The man Caleb had pinned tried to pull his hand off of him but found that he couldn’t. 

“What the fuck are you?!” He said

“Your worst nightmare?” Caleb responded. The man that the young woman was strangling collapsed. 

“Yes!” She said. “Okay just knock him out and we can leave,” she said. Caleb punched the guy in the face, knocking him out. her face changed there were more iron shepherds coming up. They fired the tranquilizers into the woman and into Caleb.

________

Caleb eyes opened, he had a headache. He still felt heavy from the effects of the tranquilizers. He lifted himself into a sitting position up slowly. There was a someone standing before him and another person standing towards the door. Caleb’s eyes ran up the man’s body, meeting a pair of dark cold eyes. 

“Good, good, you’re awake,” a voice said. “You are quite a find my little friend,” Caleb looked up at the man who stood before him. He was tall muscular, scarred, his head shaved tattoos on one side. “You don’t seem like a spoiled brat so how did you come by such advanced cyberneticists?”

Caleb kept his mouth shut, he is afraid of what would happen if he told the truth. Because he was certain that there would be a pricey reward for his safe return to Trent.

“I suggest you cooperate with me,” he said. Pressing a button the collar beeped before sending a shock through Caleb’s body. He cried out in surprise at the sudden shock, but he has felt pain worse than this. 

“no,” he says through clenched teeth. 

“no? You don’t get to say no. I own you now,” he said “you are my property,” 

“I don’t remember,” He said. He was afraid if he told this man he would end up back in Ikithon’s clutches. The man seems to believe him. 

“Shame,” he said looking at him disappointed. “Would love to know before you are ripped to pieces,” he said. He turned to one of his people “we will put him in the ring tonight, no need to waste space on something useless,” he said. Caleb realized he had to make himself useful in some other way or he was going to die tonight. The man was distracted talking to the other person so Caleb worked to get the collar off. It didn’t take more then a few seconds for him to do so. He was really good with things like this, he always had been. He had been an engineering major before the accident. 

”I have other uses,” Caleb said. The man turned to look at him seeing the collar in his hands, “I’m good with tech, I assumed you have cyborg pit fights?”

”correct,”

”I can repair any damages done,” he said “to them during the fights. And I can improve these collars. Whatever else you need done too,” he said. 

”we already have a technician,” the woman said 

“we could always use another,” the man said. “Besides they made the collars but this kid just got it off in under a minute,”

”how can we even trust him?”

”we have someone keep a eye on him at all times,” he said. “We will have Nott do it, she won’t hesitate to shoot him if he tries to run,” He turned to Caleb. “You just got lucky,” he said gripping Caleb’s chin “that I am in need of someone like you,” 

“I’ll go get her then,” the woman said

”thank you Ruzza,” he said, not even acknowledging her. He kept his eyes on Caleb. “You are going to be working under Nott. You listen to her or you die understand? you fall out of line you die. As does she,” he said. 

”yes sir I understand,” he said. The door opened again and Ruzza walked in with a woman who was short and had dark green skin, a goblin, she had a few scars across her face. Her hair in two braids, she was had a pair of goggles on her head, a yellow blouse, jeans, over that she wore a heavy leather apron, and black boots.

“I like you, such a polite young man,” he smiled. He turned to the goblin, “Nott this is your new charge. He’s our new technician. He fucks up you are responsible got it?”

”yeah. Yeah Lorenzo I got it,” she said. He left as did the other woman Ruzza. Nott looked at him.

“What’s your name?”

”caleb,” he said. 

“How old are you?”

”22,”

”well come on let’s get you cleaned up and set up for your job,” she said offering him a hand. He took it and she pulled him up surprisingly strong for someone so small. She took him to her work room. 

“What do you do for him?”

”I’m a chemist,” she said. “I make the drugs he sells,” she said rubbing her knee. 

”Are you alright?”

”yeah just my leg. It’s a little creaky” 

“oh you are a cyborg?”

”yeah,”

”could I take a look? I’m actually good with cybernetics, it’s what I minored in before I dropped out,” 

”sure,” she said, getting a tool kit. She hopped up on to the table and rolled her pant leg up. Caleb took a look at it, he worked on her leg for a good ten minutes too make it work better for her. 

“There you go,” he said. Nott stood up and tested it out. 

“Wow, you are magic,” she said. “Fucking Trevor can’t do it this good. Sure he makes it stop squeaking but it doesn’t ever feel this smooth,” she said “thank you,”

“You are welcome,” he said 

“Where are you from?”

“Nowhere,” he said 

“Same,” she said. “Let’s get you set up and cleaned up,” she said. Clearing a place for him in the lab. After they set up for him to work she takes him to her place a small apartment, which is not too far from Lorenzo’s place. She shows him the bathroom. Caleb cleans himself up. It’s been a while since he has had an actual shower. When he gets out there is a pile of clothing on the sink counter for him. He puts them on, they are a little big on him but they still fit. He walks out of the bathroom. Nott is in the kitchen. 

“You hungry?”

“Nein,” he said “I am fine,”

“Nonsense, you are too skinny you need to eat,” she said handing him. A plate with a sandwich on it. 

“You had a family?”

“Yes, before the accident that took part of my leg,” she said, eating her sandwich, Caleb eats his. Even though it’s just a simple sandwich it somehow reminds him of his mom’s cooking. 

“You do a good job and he will start to pay you,” she said. “You are lucky you are so smart,” she said. 

“Ja, I am,” he said. “He said he was going to let them tear me apart in the pits,”

“Illegal fighting. Usually cyborgs pit against other cyborgs,” 

“Because they hate us,”

“And it makes good money for him. It’s not the only thing he does,”

“What else does he do?”

“Sell drugs. Sell people. Sell cybernetic parts,”

“So all the bad things,”

“Yes. But we do what we have to so we don’t end up as one of his cargo,” 

“I will not cause you trouble,” he said. 

“Thank you, come on let’s go. We have more work to do,” they went back to the lab they now shared. The collars had been left on his desk for him to work on.


	3. And ripped my heart out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fjord’s POV  
Trigger Warning ⚠️ Brief mentions of abuse

**Five months later**

  
Fjord woke up with a yell stuck in his throat, his hand clutching his chest. Over the jagged scar, he was breathing heavily. He was drenched in sweat, he got up stripping the bed and tossing the sheets into the hamper. He dried himself off of the sweat and went down to the kitchen. Cad and Beau were in at the kitchen table having a cup of tea. 

“Nightmare?” Cad asked him. Caduceus was a pale firbolg with long pink hair that draped to one side of his face. 

“Yeah,” he said. 

“Come sit with us,” fjord joined them. Cad got up and made him a cup of tea handing it to him. The half orc took it with a silent thanks.

”you want to talk about it?” Beau asked him. 

“Same dream,” 

“you still want to talk about it?”

”I uhhh,” he put his hand over the scar. “I barely remember the accident. It happened years ago,” he said. “I still don’t know why he did that,” he said. “I trusted him, and yet he continued to hurt me,” 

”I know,” Beau said. 

“It cost me a lot,” he said, drinking the tea, it always seemed to settle his nerves.

“I’m aware. You refuse to let anyone else drive a car,” she said. 

“I know. It’s stupid,”

”no it’s not,” Cad said. “Trauma is not stupid, you are still healing,” 

“You aren’t the only one recovering from trauma either,” Beau said. “So I understand. He crashed the car into the ocean and you almost died,” 

Fjord placed his hand over his scar. “I remember them cutting into me,” he said

”you remember that?” Beau asked. 

“I remember the faint pain I felt,” he said. 

“Did they not realize you were awake?”

“They didn’t know until the second surgery I have a very fast metabolism,” he said 

”that must have been scary,” 

“it was,” he said “but then I met you,”

”roommates,” Beau smiled. 

”this makes me feel better,”

”good. Let’s go get sleep we have work to do,”

_______ 

Fjord got ready for work the next day, he and Beau went to the hospital to question the young women there that had been in a domestic dispute, they had found drugs in the apartment. A lot of drugs. 

“Look I told the other officers everything already,” she said 

“yes well we are actually here to ask you about your boyfriend’s dealer,”

”hmmm, I don’t know much, it’s a halfling woman and sometimes a human man,” 

“what do they look like?”

”umm...she is brown skin, dark hair, dark eyes. He is pale, lot of freckles, red hair and blue eyes. He keeps his hair pulled back in a ponytail. He is a cyborg, she....i dunno, might be one too. It’s hard to tell these days,” 

“thank you that is helpful,” Beau said. 

“I’m glad,” she said. “I don’t know what apartment is theirs. They live in the same building as us,” 

”it’s alright,” Fjord said. 

Fjord and Beau left going door to door. They knocked on apartment 69 in unit B. The door opened, a human male stood before them. He matched then description the woman had given them. 

“Uh Ja can I help you?” He asked, his eyes glanced down at the gun holstered to Fjord’s side. His eyes looked back up. He shut the door quickly. Beau jammed it with her foot. Shoving it open. 

“Look man we just want to talk,” 

“I don’t want to talk,” he said, backing up. “Don’t you need a warrant to come in here?”

“We can talk here or down at the precinct,” Beau said

“find. Find. We can talk here,” he said. 

“You deal for Lorenzo Shepherd?”

”sometimes. I mostly do other things for him,” he said. Fjord saw the tools on the counter. So he was one of Lorenzo’s butcher mechanics. 

”like taking apart cyborgs? You know they can still feel it right?!” Fjord asked, it made him angry. 

”I know,” the man said he pulled off the glove on his left hand, his hand was cybernetic, top notch. Fjord had to wonder how he got access to that kind of tech. “I try to make it as painless as possible,”

”you are a cyborg?” Beau asked 

The man nodded. 

“Most of his people are,” he said. “He would have killed me, so I made myself useful to him,”

”we won’t arrest you if you become our informant, we can get you immunity,”

”Nott gets it too,” he said.

“Nott?”

”my friend, she is under the same fear I am. And she’s the only family I have left,” 

”we will try,”

”if you can only get one of us immunity then give it to her,” he said “please,”

”ok,” Fjord said 

“now go,” he said. “Before they think I’m snitching,” he said shoving them out the door. He slipped his number into fjord’s pocket.

______  
they continued to knock on doors to keep appearances up

”well he’s a weird one,” Beau said

”indeed,” Fjord said putting his hand in his pocket he pulled out the piece of paper. “Caleb,” he said “that’s his name and he gave me his number. Looks like we could actually take down Lorenzo one and for all,” he said. 

“Let’s go work on another case and asked Allura if she can help us get Caleb that deal,” 


End file.
